Immortality (Xbox Series X) - This is a hugely ambitious FMV game, perhaps the most ambitious ever. But I have to be honest, the narrative didn’t really work for me. Initially I was wowed - the production values are really high, the concordance function seemed a significantly more technically impressive way of navigating the videos than Sam Barlow’s previous games and the over-arching story seemed intriguing.

But I think ultimately the whole concordance thing is a bit of an artifice with no connection to reality, unlike the search function from Sam Barlow’s previous games - it doesn’t feel like a real investigation, more that trial and error and RNG are uncovering new clips for you. I’m not sure I would describe the narrative as actually good, more that it’s told in such an obfuscated and difficult way that it flatters the intelligence of the player for managing to understand it. Also, unlike the previous Sam Barlow games where you were basically funnelled through a critical path and guaranteed to have a pretty decent understanding of the narrative by the end of the game, this one is a lot looser - my playthrough wasn’t too bad by the sound of it but I would still have liked to have been required to have a more thorough knowledge of what was going on before unlocking the credits and it sounds like some people have hit the credits having essentially not meaningfully engaged with the story - I’m really not sure this is an improvement from the previous games.

Overall, a really impressive project and one that I’m glad I checked out, but not the one for me. I would still recommend having a look before it leaves Game Pass though. [7]

EvilRedEye wrote:

Immortality (Xbox Series X)

If you've got time for an FMV game, you've got time for more Mega CD stuff.

Blue Swirl wrote:

regmcfly wrote:

FFXVI never ask me for anything ever again

How many hours?

67 I think, that was all hunts, all side quests, got the pimp sword, but I only did one Chronolith. Might go back one day, but see next thread I make as to why I might not.

Balloon Fight (NES) - Completed all the unique phases and got the top score on Balloon Trip. This is quite fun and there is genuinely some sense of mastery, although it is quite a simple game. I went from struggling to manoeuvre on the bonus stages and Balloon Trip to being quite handy at balloon popping. The key to Balloon Trip is to learn to pop all the initial pre-fixed set of balloons. Then you only have to pop a few of the randomised ones before you get a big bonus for 20 balloons in a row, plus each balloon is then worth more. Once you perfect this, you can beat the high score in only a couple of minutes. Although Balloon Trip is nice, this feels like a fairly basic arcade conversion and it doesn’t really feel like they managed to put the spirit of a console game in it. [6]

Moot_Geeza wrote:

I always liked that one when it popped up in the NES Remix games.

Funnily enough, it was NES Remix that inspired me to play it. I’m trying to go through all the NES Remix games so I can play it in retrospect, like someone wot had a NES back in the day.

Finally a review that lets me know it's alright to wait till the crimbo sales.

I'm finding my enjoyment of Tunic is decreasing towards the end. The combination of limited combat, invisible enemies, damage sponge bosses and souls design (honestly one of my least favourite gameplay trends) have soured me on what was otherwise looking like a good fun adventure.

Wound up turning off damage because combat was both mechanically boring and unbalanced.

Vela wrote:

I'm finding my enjoyment of Tunic is decreasing towards the end. The combination of limited combat, invisible enemies, damage sponge bosses and souls design (honestly one of my least favourite gameplay trends) have soured me on what was otherwise looking like a good fun adventure. Wound up turning off damage because combat was both mechanically boring and unbalanced.

I'll never forget the best or the worst bits about that game.  Still love it though.  I put assists on for the last boss (last two bosses possibly?) and wish I'd done it for all of them really.  I didn't mind the combat in the overworld bits, but all things considered the bosses were pretty much all crap.

I have nothing but contempt for people that used the assists in Tunic. I’m a namby-pamby ‘press A to win’ JRPG player and I managed it. The rest of you have no excuse.

EvilRedEye wrote:

I have nothing but contempt for people that used the assists in Tunic. I’m a namby-pamby ‘press A to win’ JRPG player and I managed it. The rest of you have no excuse.

The combat is functional at the start. By the third boss it is exposed for what it is; basic and tedious.

It's a very good game, and a very good journey, the ending was just a capstone to what I felt was a slightly disappointing third act that felt muddled and artificial in a lot of ways.

EvilRedEye wrote:

I have nothing but contempt for people that used the assists in Tunic. I’m a namby-pamby ‘press A to win’ JRPG player and I managed it. The rest of you have no excuse.

It wasn't enjoyable. I don't think I turned assists on, though, I just stopped playing instead, and once I'd taken a break there was no way I was going to be able to remember where everything was.

Let's start an angry online petition for a Tunic reboot. With a decent combat system it could've been a 10.

Betternic.

Tempy wrote:

It's a very good game, and a very good journey, the ending was just a capstone to what I felt was a slightly disappointing third act that felt muddled and artificial in a lot of ways.

Star Wars Episode IX, right?

Oh, you said game. Nm.